Officers are the crew members who hand the Jackdaw new naval combat abilities in Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced, and the three optional ones make the game’s hardest sea battles far more manageable. Two more join automatically as part of the main story, but they only fill the Quartermaster slot and change nothing about how your ship fights.
Quick answer: Recruit Lucy Baldwin, The Padre, and Tobias “Deadman” Smith by finishing their side quests. Lucy is at Great Inagua (465, 608), The Padre is at Punta del Caracol (918, 340), and Deadman is at Great Inagua (822, 446). Deadman requires the other two officers plus specific main-story progress first.
The three officers that change how the Jackdaw fights
Only three officers grant ship abilities, and each one is tied to an optional side quest rather than the main path. Here is what each brings and where their recruitment quest starts.
| Officer | Role | Ability | Quest & location |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lucy Baldwin | Shipwright | Perfect Brace | A Proper Shipwright — Great Inagua (465, 608) |
| The Padre | Master-at-Arms | Ram Dash | A Second Chance — Punta del Caracol (918, 340) |
| Tobias “Deadman” Smith | Weapon Master | Extra Salvo & Cohort Mortar | No Box Dark Enough — Great Inagua (822, 446) |
The Quartermasters join automatically
You do not need to hunt down Adéwale or Anne Bonny. Adéwale becomes your Quartermaster after you finish The Treasure Fleet main quest, and Anne Bonny steps in as a second Quartermaster once you complete Everything is Permitted. Neither one unlocks a special ship ability, so treat them as story milestones rather than upgrades.
Recruit Lucy Baldwin for Perfect Brace
Lucy Baldwin is the Shipwright, and her Perfect Brace is the single most valuable ship ability in the game. Time a brace right before an enemy hit lands and you negate almost all of the incoming damage, which turns the legendary ship fights from grueling into survivable.
Recruit The Padre for Ram Dash
The Padre serves as your Master-at-Arms and grants Ram Dash. This move accelerates the Jackdaw forward and deals heavy damage to the first ship it strikes, often sinking smaller vessels outright and closing the distance to bigger targets without firing a cannon.
Recruit Deadman Smith for Extra Salvo and Cohort Mortar
Tobias “Deadman” Smith is the Weapon Master and the hardest officer to unlock. He becomes available much later than the other two, near the game’s final act, and he requires the most setup. Recruiting him grants Extra Salvo, which fires an additional round from your broadside cannons, and later the Cohort Mortar, an alternate mortar mode with a tighter, more precise firing pattern that shines when allied and enemy ships are packed close together.
How to confirm each officer is on your crew
You know a recruitment worked when the officer’s quest closes out and their ability appears in your ship’s ability wheel. Lucy adds Perfect Brace, The Padre adds Ram Dash, and Deadman adds Extra Salvo right away, with the Cohort Mortar arriving once his full questline is done.
If a recruitment quest never shows up on the map, the usual cause is a missing prerequisite. Lucy and The Padre both need This Old Cove finished, while Deadman needs the other two officers, Everything is Permitted, and A World Without Gold: I Just Want to Talk completed before No Box Dark Enough will trigger. Clear those gates in order and each officer will slot straight into the crew.
